"Dr. King is most remembered for fighting for the rights of African Americans, but he fought for the rights of all Americans. He believed in fairness and equity for everyone," Chapman said. "As a black man, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing today if it wasn't for him and the brave people of the civil rights movement."

Chapman graduated from Fairport High School in 2003. He received a BFA in illustration from School of Visual Arts in New York and has received awards from the Society of Illustrators. He is an illustrator in the Illustration Studio at American Greetings' headquarters in Cleveland and has also worked for clients such as Target, American Express and INC magazine.

Google Doodles appear on the company's homepage to mark special occasions, replacing the company logo with an illustration that links to articles on the subject.

Illustrator Cannaday Chapman(Photo: Provided)

Chapman's doodle was created in collaboration with the Black Googlers Network, an internal employee group focused on empowering Google’s black community.

Chapman says he hopes that his doodle will inspire people to reflect on this moment in history.

"I would like people to remember that current events and our actions today will shape the future generations of tomorrow," he said. "What kind of example do we want to set for our children and our children's children?"

Chapman shared several early drafts of ideas for the Doodle which featured King's image prominently, including an illustration of a group of children drawing his portrait with sidewalk chalk.

In the end, he chose an image that showed a diverse crowd listening to King's message.

"I was inspired by people. It may appear that this movement or any civil rights movement was brought about by one person, but it's the people that have the power to bring change," he said. "I wanted to make an image about those people."